2015 vs 2019

1. We will be in a hotel room while he dresses for the ceremony, so I will not be able to select his clothes and iron his gown. (“Take the gown out of the package and hang it near the shower to get the wrinkles out.”)
2. I will be able to blame my tears on the pollen and the pollen alone, since the ceremony is scheduled to be outdoors.
3. I am not going to worry about finding $100,000 or so to finance his university education. (“All that tuition money, and they still want a hundred bucks for a polyester gown?”)
4. I am not going to worry about whether he will succeed in college without his mom’s daily presence.  (“Did you or did you not remember to hang up the gown?”)
5. I am not going to worry about whether he will fit in, or will make friends, or will find activities and classes that speak to his passions.
6. I am going to worry about his next stage of life, once his summer commitments are over, and about just how far away from home he will be.
7. I won’t be impatient with families who cheer loudly, because this time that family may be ours.  (“Wooooooo! That’s our son, the one in the wrinkled gown!”)
8. Son will be able to legally drink an alcoholic beverage (or two) as we toast his successes and chuckle about the times we doubted him.
9. Instead of asking my older children to offer the graduate some advice on college life, I will ask my older children to offer some advice on real life.
10. I will make the graduate pose for many photos in many campus locations, because by now he ought not to be embarrassed by his mom’s sentimental expectations.
11. I will have to retire my favorite expression, the one I have been using whenever Son exasperated me:  “Your life?  Honey, we pay for your life.”